Time(Line) Keeps on Slipping, Slipping, Slipping...

So I'm almost done with the mittens. If it weren't for the RIDICULOUS new "Timeline" that Facebook is imminently forcing onto people (mandatory turnover will be happening in the next few weeks), I wouldn't have spent all this time preparing it for others to see... and I most likely would have finished TWO pairs of those damn mittens by now! -_-

Anyhow, they're fun to make, knit up super-quickly, and they look fantastic when they're on a hand:

You'll all just have to wait until next time to see it on a model ;)

Now, before I delve into the more detailed aspects of yarn art, I need to briefly mention my style of knitting. While I had been knitting in the "English" style since the age of three, a family friend taught me the "Continental" style while I was in college. After the initial learning curve I found it MUCH easier to manipulate the yarn this way! No longer did I hold the yarn with my right hand, as I had done for many years.

I firmly believe that it is important to always learn and improve, with everything you do. Self-discovery is crucial, especially with art. This most definitely includes knitting... and one of the most important realizations I had two years ago, about my art, is that I knit "backwards".

How I found out is of no real consequence. What matters is that soon afterwards I went to a knitting group. This woman (who I refer to as "The-Bee-Yotch-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named") made it her goal of the evening to rid me of this habit, as if it personally offended her that I was knitting into the backs of my stitches, rather than the front. She kept shouting that I was "doing it wrong."

Needless to say, I did not enjoy this particular meeting at all. I spent the whole time telling her to leave me alone. I couldn't get her to understand that no, I was not just starting out, that I was by no means a beginner... that yes, I knew EXACTLY what I was doing... and no, I did not need her help to "correct" my work.

Knitting is a form of art. Just as all painters have different ways to create strokes on a canvas, not one person knits exactly the same as another. I have found others who knit as I do, and our work is just as lovely as that of those who knit the "correct" way.

I mention this particular quirk because, at the request of a friend, I'll be posting knitting advice and how-to's in later posts. I want you all to be aware of the difference in style that some of you might have when compared to mine, and I would like to minimize confusion. Since these will require photo or video examples, you will see what I'm talking about when that time comes.

Until next time, which will feature the beautiful (and complete!) pair of mittens... fare the well~!

New Beginnings! :)

New to blogging-- kind of new to business-- but DEFINITELY not new to art! I've been an artist of many mediums for many years now.

I put together scrapbooks... I make greeting cards... I paint... I draw... I sculpt... I've dabbled in screen printing... I knit... I crochet... I make Christmas ornaments, both classy and kitschy... I turn buttons into really cool things... I make dolls... and (most importantly, of late) I make jewelry!

Let me put it this way. I've been called "The Queen of Crafts" more than once, by different people. I'm kind of like Martha Stewart, back when she actually *made* all the things she has on her website ;)

To get things started, here is my latest project-- cast on earlier this evening, I've been knitting and watching REALLY BAD horror movies. Hubby and I just finished "The Demon Bat," starring Bela Lugosi. These mittens seem like a quick-knit, courtesy of a vintage knitting book (thank you for the gift, Mom!)--

 Looking forward to a future full of blog posts <3